It has been used in gardening and various DIY projects, made to military specs and developed to be flame retardant. It has been adapted for use in the agriculture, apparel, automotive, aerospace, communications, health and beauty, healthcare, personal care and sports and recreation markets.

There are more than 200 patents associated with Velcro® Brand hook and loop fasteners, which has allowed it to achieve such broad usage of its products. Velcro USA Inc. believes its tradition of innovation will help ensure even more consumers and industries benefit from the unique, two-sided fasteners.

“The original Velcro Brand hook and loop patent may be gone, but our history of innovation continues,” says Joan Cullinane, president of Velcro USA Inc. and vice president of Velcro Group Corp. “Our company definitely demonstrates a progression of technology, while serving various industries and benefiting end-users, as well. We always strive to make things simpler.”

“Velcro” – a name taken from the French words “velour” and “crochet” – was developed in the early 1940s by Swiss inventor George de Mestral. De Mestral was an outdoorsman, and one day after a walk with his dog, he noticed his dog’s coat and his own pants were covered with cockleburs. He studied the burs under a microscope, where he discovered their natural hook-like shape connected well to the soft loops in the fabric of his pants.

De Mestral began to design looms that could produce materials with the same hook-and-fastening mechanism. In the early 1950s, the wrong yarn was delivered to his work area; it was nylon, which was relatively new at the time. Nylon was great for making hooks because the thread set into a molded form when heated and easily retained shapes. Velcro USA Inc. notes the first use of the hook and loop fastener was in 1953; the Velcro brand was trademarked in the United States in May 1958.

Marketing and Innovation
Velcro USA Inc. operates a facility for textile and plastics production in its hometown of Manchester, N.H., and creates non-woven materials – the “other side of the hook,” Cullinane says – at its Somersworth, N.H., plant. The company also has an office in Troy, Mich., to best serve its automotive customers.

Because R&D is a substantial part of the company’s operations, the Velcro Co.’s R&D team has its own building at the Manchester campus, and maintains separate labs for technology and development. The Velcro Group Corp. R&D team focuses on creating advanced technology and working with the marketing team to get products to market.

It also develops products by working with key clients. “Our development is a combination of marketing and innovation,” she says. “We strive to develop new technology and materials before consumers realize [they need them].”

The company’s divisions cover the industrial, consumer, transportation technologies, construction and personal care, health and beauty markets; the R&D team continuously works to develop new products for each division.

Cullinane explains the construction unit is working with R&D to innovate products to be used with floors, walls and ceilings. Velcro USA Inc. is studying how its products can reduce the complexity of cables and wiring in a home or office. It also is working to develop a fastener that will transport power through a conductive solution.

Velcro USA Inc.’s development of non-woven products is creating “huge excitement” throughout the company, Cullinane says. “These products are lightweight, which is great for the medical market,” she says. “We are expanding our Somersworth plant so we can add to our plastics capabilities and non-woven production.

“We also are doing some work with “hook-to-hook” products. These work well as a mechanical fastener attachment because of their robust design.”

To support its innovation goals, Velcro USA Inc. continuously updates all of its facilities, and recently overhauled its R&D test labs to improve them.